Incubator



Oct. 22, 1940. c. w. HlRLEMAN 2,219,185

INCUBATOR Filed Nov. 22, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 22. 1940.

Fled Nov. 22, 1937 C. W. HIRLEMAN INGUBATOR 5 Shoots-Sheet 3 Gai. 22, 1940. c. w. HxRLr-:MAN

INCUBATOR Filed Nov. 22, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 C. W. HIRLEMAN Oct. 22, 1940.

INCUBATOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed lNov. 22, 1957 in winch the blood will flow to head.

Piena.; oa. 22, 1940 2,219,185

UNITED STATES PATENT; or-FICE DICUBATOR Clark W. Hlrleman, Minneapolis, Minn. Application November 22, 1'937, Serial No. 175,846

1 Claim. (C11 128-1) My invention relates .to incubators and, more section, taken substantially on the line l-d of panicularly, to an incubator for babies and es- Fig. 3, with some parts removed; polly 'designed and We11a apted fOr USB dm- Fig. 5 is a view, partly in plan View and partly mediately after birth. in section, taken on .the line 5--5 of Fig. 3, with it is well known that a |babys circulating sys- Some parl-,s removed; $811- dOeS lOt begl 170 lmC'tiOn PIODGIIY fOI ap- Fig. 6 is a plan view of the bassinet removed proxifrnately forty-eight `hours after lbirrth, and from ,the incubator; this period is a critical ,time in the babys life. Fig, 7 is la tragmenrtary View, partly in eleva- Billing JhiS period, 'the baby Should be kept, aS tion and partly in section, taken on the line "i-l near as possible, under the same conditions as f Fig 3; those just prior to'birth.

The object of this invention is fto produce 'these conditions, as near as possible, (by providing an automatic heating system lor keeping the temperature in ythe incubator substantially at the same temperature as that of the mother, which is approximately ninety-eight degrees (98), -to iurtherprovide automatic means ior supplying the incubator with a predetermined, constan-t and uniform supply of humidity, as well as with fresh which heated before entering the. compartment in which the Kbaby is kept, and to ord facilities for keeping the lbaby in a position taken on the yline 8 3 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary detail view partly in elevation 4and partly in section taken on the line 9 9 of Fig.

parts -sectioned on the Iline iO-i of Fig. 2, with fthe humidifier removed;

Fig. ll is a fragmentary elevation of the thermostat, on an enlarged scale;

lfig. l2 is a fragmentary elevation of the humidostalt, on an enlarged scale; and

Fig. i3 s a wiring diagram. Y Yihe numeral i4 indicates a cabinet having supporting legs i5 equipped with castors l. Said cabinet lli is also provided with a displaceable main cover il hinged to the head end of the cabinet i4, as indicated at i8, for raising and lowering movements.. When the main cover l is closed, lt loosely rests on fthe upper edge portion ci the cabinet l. A jointed brace i9 is provided for holding the cover il in lan open or raised position, as indicated by broken lines in lig. 3. The .cover l'l is provided with la large central rectangular opening 20, through which the interior of the cabinet i4 may be viewed, and which also affords :a Ventilating or air escape passageway. This opening may (be completely closed v'and fthe air-conducting capacity varied, at will, 'by a pair of secondary covers 2l. rllhese covers 2l are slidably mounted, for movement toward or from each other, ln a plane parallel `,to the cover l1, on a pair of grooved rails 22 secured itc said cover, on .the ytop thereof and at the head and foot ends of the opening 20. Each secondary cover 2l is provided with a knob 23 by which it may be moved on the rails 22.

Removably'mounted in fthe cabinet. I4 is ahorizontally disposed grill or rack 24,1.which vloosely y rests on a .pair of rails 25 secured tothe sides of said cabinet. This rack 24, as shown, is made up of a plural-ity of transverse slats connected section, with some parts shown in diiierent posiby a pair of longitudinal members, and divides tions by means of broken lines; the cabinet I4 into an upper or lbassinet com- Fig. 4 ls a view, partly 4in .plan and partly in partment 26 and a lower or heating compart- Other objects of the invention are to provide an incubator that can Ibe manufactured and sold at a comparatively small cost, :that is compact and of light weight, which facilitates moving or transporting the same from place to place, and that can be easily cleaned and sterilized.

?,y the use of this invention, it is possi-ble, just prior tto the birth of a baby, to heat the incubator containing the required amount of sterilized bedding, to the desired .temperature and supply the same with the proper amount of humidity so that the baby, as -soon after `birth. as possible, may be placed in the incubator, thus avoiding shocks `resulting from a change in temperature or' other conditions.

To ythe above end, generally stated, fthe invention consists of the novel devices, combinations of devices and [arrangement of parts 4hereinafter described and defined in the claim.

In the accompany-lng drawings, which illustrate the invention, like characters indicate like parts (throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of the improved incubator;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, with some parts broken away and sectioned;

Fig. 3 is n View principally in central vertical 53 is a inagmentary detail View in section Fig. l0 is a fragmentary detail view with some ment 2, the former of which ds relatively deep and the latter of which is relatively shallow.

A bassinet 28 is removably suspended in `the compartment 25 and, as shown, is a skeleton-like basket made up of a plurality of fthin edgewise spaced met-al strips. Two of the longitudinal members of the bassinet' 2S have their ends shaped to form, at the head end of said bassinet, a pair of hook-like supporting fingers 2S, and at the foot end thereof is a like pair of supporting fingers 3,5, and which pairs of fingers entend above the bassinet 28.

The supporting iingers 25 loosely rest on a horizontal transverse rod 3l, and the fingers 30 loosely rest on a yoke-like Wearing member 32, which straddles the upper edge portion of the foot end of the cabinet l5 and is secured thereto. This Wearing member 32 extends substantially the full width of the cabinet i5 and is spaced from the cover il to leave clearance for the ringens 35. The lingers 3B hingedly support the bassinet 28 at its foot end and permit raising or lowering ci the head end of said bassinet.

The rod 3l is removably supported at diierent elevations by a pair of inclined bar-like members 33 secured to the sides of the cabinet ill on the inner faces thereof. One member 33, to wit: the one on the left-hand side of the cabinet l5, has a plurality of vertically spaced bore-like seats 35, into any one of which the respective end of the rod 3l may be inserted by an endwise movement, see Fig. 9. The other member 33 has a plurality oi ratchet-like open seats 35, into any one of which the respective end of the rod 3i may beinserted by a lateral movement. Obviously, by mounting the rod 3i in the different pairs of seats 35 and 35, the head end of the bassinet 28 may be supported at diierent elevations relative to the foot end thereof.

It may be here stated that the bassinet 28 will be provided with a mattress and the necessary bedding, not shown.

Suspended from the bottom of the cabinet Iii, at the foot end thereof, is a cage 35, forremovably holding a humidier, as will presently appear. This cage 35 includes a removable horizontal bar 3l having notched ends which releasably interlock with headed studs 38 on said cage. A chain 39 connects the bar 3l to the cage 36 to prevent thev same from becoming lost. On the bottom of the cage 36 is a segmental centering ange 45. Formed in the bottom of the cabinet lil at the center of the cage 36 is an air and moisture intake opening 4I, covered by an air filter 42, of cheese-cloth or other suitable material. The filter 42 is secured to a frame 43 slidably mounted on guide rails it secured to the under side of the cabinet li.

To keep the bassinet compartment 26 at a predetermined temperature, I provide an electric heating system which includes two series of heating elements 45. 'Ihere is one of these series at each side of the heating compartment 21 and the respective elements 45 are spaced longitudinally thereof and removably mounted in a socket/46 secured to the bottom of said compartment.

Each series of heating elements 45 is independently controlled by a hand switch 4l on the aaiaies secured to the head end of the cabinet lil in the bassinet compartment near the top thereof.

The invention also includes a humdifying system for supplying the bassinet compartment 26 with the proper amount of moisture, and includes a water receptacle 49 having a removable cover 55, in the center of which is a vapor escape opening 5i. This humidier is removably mounted in the cage 3S and centered by the flange l5 with its opening 5l directly under the air intake opening 5i. The displaceable bar 3i prevents the humidier from sliding out of the cage S5 in case the cabinet lll is tipped during the moving thereof.

Within the water receptacle i5 is a float 52 in which is mounted a heating element 53, shown in the wiring diagram. The circuit for the heating element 53 includes a plug 54 detachably secured to a socket in' a receptacle 55 on the foot end ci the cabinet ifi between the two switches 5l. The humidifying system also includes a humidostat 55 in the bassinet adjacent to the thermostat In the circuit for the heating element 53 is a pilot lamp 5l and a hand switch 58, both of which are on the face of the receptacle 55, with the plug 54 therebetween. The wires within the cabinet M for the heating and humidiiying systems are carried in conduits 59.

Referring now to the wiring diagram, the numeral 6E! indicates the wires of a light line that is 110 volt A.. C. or D. C., and the numeral El indicates a pair of circuit wires that can be attached by a plug 5l' to any outlet in said light line. Branch circuit wires 52 for each series of heating elements 45 lead from the circuit wires 5l and one of the hand switches il is interposed in each pair of branch wires 62.

The circuit wires 53, for the heating element 53, of the humidifying system, and also the pilot light 5l lead from one pair oi the branch circuit wires 52. -'I'he hand switch 58 is interposed in the circuit wires 53'.

From the above description, it is evident that by opening the secondary covers 2l, a baby in the bassinet may be Watched and even moved and the bed arranged without opening the main cover il. 'I'he thermostat 48 and the humidostat 56 may be inspected to see that they are properly set and adjusted. By adjusting the rod 3l, the elevation of the head end oi the bassinet 28 may be changed, at will, under the instruction of the attending physician or nurse. The lter i2 excludes all dust, lint or the like from the air entering the cabinet i4 through the intake opening 4I. By manipulating the hand switches 4l, one or both series of heating elements may be turned on or out of action.` Likewise, the heating element 53 for the humidier may be turned ofi or on by manipulating the switch 58 Without affecting the supply of current to the heating element 55.

It may be here stated that the thermostat 48 will automatically keep the temperature in the bassinet compartment 2E at Whatever temperature said thermostat is set for, by turning oi or on the heating elements 45. likewise, the humidostat 56 will automatically control the vaporization of the water in the receptacle 55 by turning on or off the heating element 53, so that the mount of humidity at which the humidostat is set will be supplied to the bassinet compartment 25.

When cleansing and sterilizing the incubator, the bassinet 28 and rack 24 may be quickly and easily lifted from the cabinet I4 when the main cover I1 is open. The humidiiier may also be easily removed from the cage 30 for the purpose vof emptying the water therein or reliing the same simply by removing the bar 31. The rack 24 also serves as a guard to prevent the babys clothing or the bedding from coming in contact with the heating elements 45, thus preventing As previously stated, the Vimproved incubator is very compact and of light weight and can easily be moved from place to place. Said incubator can be easily transported in an automobile When attending a. birth where there are no hospital facilities.

From what has been said, it will be understood that the incubator described is capable of modiiication as to detalls of construction and arrangement within the scope of the invention herein disclosed and claimed.

What I claim is:

The combination with an incubator cabinet having legs supporting the same in an elevated position, said cabinet having an air intake opening in the bottom thereof, of a carrier suspended on the bottom of the cabinet surrounding the opening, a self-contained portable electrically heated humidifier removably supported by the bottom of the carrier and having a discharge opening in its upper end. and means carried by the carrier for centering the discharge opening in the humidiiier directly below the center of the opening in the bottom of the cabinet.

CLARK W. HIRLEMAN. 

